Darkness
by Lianuh
Summary: Life before Bree became a vamp. Up until Riley finds her.. Not as bad as it sounds. R&R, please!
1. Plans

As the bell rang for next hour, I jumped out of my seat eagerly and walked quicker than usual out the door.  
Outside the classroom door, I sighed and prepared to wait for my two best friends, Derek and Samantha. Derek was tan, muscular, and had dark hair that partially covered his green eyes. He was cute, but I'd never say it out loud because it would be super awkward. We'd already tried dating, and it was apparent that we could only be friends. Samantha had short, blonde hair with absolutely no split ends. She was very lean, and her skin was the perfect shade of white. Because she was lacking a bit in the "chest area", she was kind of insecure. I sighed again when they walked out of the classroom and joined me to walk into history.  
"What the hell was Mrs. Jameson even talking about?" Derek demanded.  
Sam shrugged, and I answered. "Who knows?" I laughed. "Nobody really cares, anyway. Math is stupid."  
"It is," Sam agreed quietly.  
I groaned as the classroom came into view. I was grateful it was Friday and us three could hang out tomorrow.  
"Hey," I whispered as we sat at our table that consisted of just us. "Want to go to the mall tomorrow afternoon?"  
"Yeah," they said in unision. I smiled and looked up at the the teacher, who was glaring at me from the front of the class.  
"Ms. Tanner, is there something you'd like to share with us?" She gestured to the class.  
My friends were staring at me from across the table. Their lips were twitching, trying to keep from laughing so we didn't piss Mrs. Jay off more. I rolled my eyes and faced Mrs. Jay. I decided to test the waters and annoy the hell out of her.  
I stood up ignorantly, gave her a military salute, and said "No, Ma'am."  
To my surprise, her lips twitched, like she was trying to hold back amusement. The class was snorting like the idiots they were.  
I sat down and Sam and Derek were laughing so hard that their faces were turning red with the blood that filled their cheeks.  
"Enough," Mrs. Jay snapped.  
She drifted back into her stupid lecture about some war that happened like a zillion years ago. I yawned and leaned my head back into my plastic, uncomfortable chair.  
After a while, I glanced at the clock. There were two minutes left of this torture. I bent in my seat to quietly gather up my stuff, eager to get out of this class and go to lunch.  
I lifted my books in my arms and put them onto the table. Derek and Sam mimicked my actions.  
When the bell rang, I rose up in one fluid movement and trudged to my locker. I pretty much threw my books into my locker and walked toward the cafeteria. During lunch, we made plans to go to the mall and go to this burger joint across the street from it.  
They had like, the best burgers in the universe.  
After lunch it was my favorite class.  
Study hall. God, I loved that class. It was relaxing and all I did was read.  
I grabbed my book from my locker. I snagged a notebook and my pencil bag just in case the teacher was nagging and wanted us to do something educational instead of reading.  
It was my lucky day. I was almost instantly in a good mood when I saw a sub.  
The rest of the day was actually a blur. When the final bell rang, I was free. I smiled.  
For two days.  
But it was good enough, I supposed. I ran to my locker, grateful that the bitchy teachers didn't give us any homework. They should know freshman or any people in school wanted homework. Sure as hell not on the weekends. I laughed a bit sourly and shrugged into my jacket (Seattle's forecast was rainy and cold . . . as usual). I grabbed my bag and my friends waited for me at my locker while I sluggishly got everything together. Derek threw his arm casually over my shoulders and I wrapped my arm around Sam's waist. Interlocked this way, we walked out to the school yard. When we said bye, I waved to them and walked home.  
"See you guys tomorrow," I mumbled. 


	2. Escape

I threw my bag on the floor the minute I stepped into my house. I was grateful my dad wasn't home yet. He knocked me around like fucking Dominos.  
I grabbed a bag of chips from my secret stash (okay, the box I hide under the kitchen table) and a water bottle from the fridge. I skipped up the stairs, shutting my bedroom door and locking it. I wanted to keep myself safe just in case he got home before my mom.  
I sighed and turned on the TV to Jerry Springer, my favorite after-school show. I had once wanted to meet him so badly.  
I still do. I laughed.  
My thoughts started to go to my dad. Ever since he started to drink more, he'd become more abusive. To me and my mom. Even when he was sober. I hated living in this house. I hated him. I hated my mom for not believing me when I tell her that he beats me. I hated everything about this place.  
Then something clicked.  
Screw this. I needed to get away from that place before I went mad. I grabbed my suitcase and stuffed it with all the things I needed. I called Derek and Sam's house, and left them a message. Cancelling our plans for Saturday, and soon our cherished friendship. I sighed sadly.  
It's been three weeks since I ran away from home. I was slightly disappointed. No Amber Alerts, nobody even looking for me. Some parents. I hadn't eaten all this time, just keeping myself hydrated with public water fountains.  
I had no money. It was worth it though, I constantly had to remind myself that.  
I took a deep breath and my ribs ached with the effort.  
The mall was across the street, and I decided that I wanted to sit in the A/C for a while. I didn't care about the people who stared or glared at me. I was away from my own personal hellhole, and that's what mattered.  
I sat at a two-seated table adjacent to the bathrooms. I leaned my head against the back of the stupid metal chair, and closed my eyes.  
All of a sudden, I heard a loud scraping sound. Someone was moving the chair around in front of me, causing it to rub against the floor. Goosebumps rose on my neck.


	3. Fire

My eyes flew open, and I sat up.  
It was a guy. A hot, hot guy.  
"Um . . ." was all I could say.  
"Hey," he said. He had on sunglasses, and he had gorgeous blonde hair and pale skin.  
"Hi," I mumbled automatically.  
"Want a burger, kid?" He asked playfully, eyeing me.  
"Um . . ." I repeated. What was wrong with me? I swallowed.  
He stood up suddenly, standing over me. He picked me up like a toddler and tossed me over his shoulder. I stifled a gasp when he ran out the door at an inhuman speed.  
"What the hell . . . ," I said breathlessly.  
"You're getting changed, kid. Well, hopefully." He smiled.  
"Huh?" I asked.  
Instead, he bit me. _Actually_ bit me. Like an ignorant child.  
I glanced up at him, panicked. He laid me on the ground and he took my hand.  
That's when the burning started. I screamed for three straight days.  
It felt like I was being charred alive.  
I was getting changed, just like the blonde boy told me a few minutes ago. Into something I didn't know . . . a stranger. This blonde boy hadn't told me anything.  
I could feel myself screaming, but I couldn't hear it.  
My mind was just focused on the burning fire inside of me.


End file.
